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Jones, Ruble Split Allen Turner PLM Feature Wins; Johanna Still Leads Series Points Race

By Chuck Corder

Garrett Jones is treating Pensacola like his personal playground.

The last time the Allen Turner Pro Late Models drove at Five Flags Speedway in May, the 14-year-old Pro Late Model driver from Mooresville, N.C., nosed out Milton’s Junior Niedecken for his first career victory at the famed half-mile asphalt oval.

Jones made it two in a row Friday at Pensacola’s high banks, holding off local darling Johanna Long and capturing the opening 20-lap PLM feature.

Another teen, Ryan Luza from Cypress, Texas, finished second and Korey Ruble rounded out the podium. Long finished a painstakingly eighth after a spin in Turn 2 on the final lap.

“Racing with Johanna like that was a lotta fun,� Jones said.

Long rebounded in the 30-lap finale later in the night, finishing runner-up to Ruble’s victory. Jones, who started tail end after the entire field was inverted, rallied home in fifth after early troubles.

“I messed up that first race,� admitted Long, who maintained her series points lead. “It was my fault. Garrett Jones did an awesome job. The second race, I was a little too tight. But I can’t complain with second place.�

In the opener, the youngster and the former NASCAR Nationwide Series driver were door-to-door for the final eight laps, inches from each other before.

They swapped leads all around the speedway before Long washed out in Turn 2 and spun to the bottom of the racetrack.

Jones went onto his second consecutive win in the opening 20-lap PLM feature. Long finished a heartbreaking eighth.

“I thought it’d be a lot closer between me and Johanna,� said Jones, who was one of five teenagers to compete in the double feature. “I’m not sure what happened coming off (Turn) 2.�

After an hour-long rain delay, Jones earned the pole (16.716 seconds) in a hotly-contested qualifying session that saw the 16-car field separated by less than four-tenths.

It was Long, though, whose No. 11 looked to be fastest in the early stages. She shot up to second immediately and began stalking Jones.

Long, 22, never let the high school freshman out of her sight. She was up to Jones’ bumper midway and began showing her nose by Lap 11.

Long got great runs coming out of Turn 2 to take leads on the backstretch. Jones, though, refused to yield his spot and proved to be the better car coming out of turn Nos. 3 and 4.

The pair continued to swap paint around the racetrack until a storybook ending turned sour when Long lost control of her car.

In the finale, after the field was completely inverted, a huge crash on the opening lap in Turn 3 marred the 30 lapper.

Half of the field was collected in some fashion. When Bryce Dulabhan’s No. 22 trickled down the high bank in Turn 3, he collected Jones and sent him airborne.

Jones was OK, as were the other affected drivers. His Electro Fuse Chevy No. 88? Not so much. Jones brought it in with his right, front quarter panel dangling in the wind as he drove to his pit.

The No. 88 team worked tirelessly during the red flag to get Jones back on the track. He was able to make it back out before the green flag dropped again, but almost immediately brought it back to the pits when another caution flew a lap later.

Jones was happy to head to New Smyrna with a fifth-place finish.

Ruble took the lead on the second restart and survived several more yellows to distance himself from Long and the rest of the 16 cars.

Junior Niedecken continues to be consistent. The 57-year-old Milton driver, who came into the night second in points, posted a pair of top-finishes.

While Niedecken fell to third in the standings after Jones’ win catapulted him to second, he still remains just 18 points behind Long.

“I had to save the tires to have something there at the end,� Ruble said. “The crew worked really hard. We had carburetor problems in practice. That first race, I was pretty bad. But we held on in the second one.�

 

Pro Trucks

Okie Mason scored a hat trick Friday night at Five Flags Speedway.

The 52-year-old veteran from Eight Mile, Ala., won his third consecutive Pro Trucks 25-lap feature to pad his points lead.

Mason took the lead on Lap 3 from Ty Roberts, on the pole after the dice invert, and quickly built a two-thirds of a straightaway lead by Lap 7.

Hollywood Hodivsky and Jay Jay Day, who finished second and third respectively, gave chase but couldn’t carve enough off of Mason’s lead.

“The truck is decent,� Mason understated. “I know I’m winning, but you always want to get better.�

Despite Mason being his harshest critic, he made Friday night’s win look like an effortlessly, Sunday drive.

Day set the fast time in qualifying, but his stuff under the hood wasn’t up to snuff during the feature.

“We’ve been fighting it the last couple weeks, but it was a good race tonight,� Day said. “I wish we could’ve gotten a little bit closer to Okie.�

 

Beef “O� Brady’s Sportsman

There are multiple divisions that compete at Five Flags Speedway that can lay claim to being the most-competitive local class week in and week out.

And they each have valuable arguments.

Unfortunately, they’d be wrong. With apologies to the other divisions, no series holds a candle to the Beef “O� Brady’s Sportsman.

A dozen cars battled for 25 laps Friday at America’s Favorite Home Track. A third of the field had a legitimate shot at coming home with the checkered flag.

When the dust settled, an unlikely driver found himself on top. Johnny Greene Jr. got his first win of the season, getting the better of buddy Steve Buttrick, Brannon Fowler and Shanna Ard, respectively — three other series winners this year.

“That was the longest 25 laps I’ve ever drove,� said an exhausted Greene, a charter boat captain by day. “I think I spent more time looking behind me than in front of me. It’s an honor to be on the front stretch with Brannon and Steve. They’re class guys.�

Greene had the advantage of starting P1 thanks to a two-car invert following fast-qualifier Fowler’s die roll.

Buttrick started inside of Row 2, directly behind his friend, Greene. With Ard to Buttrick’s side, the four of them shot off like rockets when the opening green flag dropped.

Fowler tasted the lead when the leaders came out of Turn 2 on the opening lap, but Greene charged back ahead before they made it back to the start-finish line.

Buttrick, Fowler and Ard each earning time in the second position. But it was Buttrick, who spent the most time behind Greene.

Buttrick came into Friday night riding high off back-to-back feature victories. He decided to throw a little seasoning into the night by choosing to ride on the same tires he won with June 27.

Buttrick followed Greene around the track for most of the race, protecting the teammates’ advantage over the rest of the field, namely Fowler and Ard.

But Buttrick disputed that.

“The car wasn’t as good as it has been,� he said. “It was pushing a little bit. We gave it a couple of chances, but we couldn’t get by him.�

 

Butler U-Pull-It Bombers

It was a sweet Friday night at Five Flags Speedway for B.J. Leytham.

From heats to features between Pensacola and Mobile International Speedway, the Mobile driver has competed in 16 races in 2014. He has won all 16 of them.

It only seemed natural, then, that Leytham led all 20 laps of the Butler U-Pull-It Bombers feature Friday at the famed half-mile asphalt oval.

Leytham qualified second behind teammate Gino Denmark’s track-record setting time of 20.716 seconds, but won the pole after Denmark rolled a “2� on the die.

“I really wasn’t expecting that,� Denmark said. “I expected B.J. to break it, but this is pretty cool.�

Leytham’s 20.720 time actually would’ve broke the Bombers previous mark of 21.804 seconds — set by current Pro Trucks driver Jay Jay Day almost four years to the date (July 16, 2010) — as well.

There was some talk Leytham might start at the tail end of the field to spice up the feature, but in the end he happily accepted all the clean air he could get.

“I’m not real sure what happened; lotta confusion,� Leytham said. “Just some miscommunication, but (I’m) always glad to start on the pole.�

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